Supermarket Secrets To Get Kids Playing

Ever felt frustrated when your kids ignore their mountain of toys only to claim they're bored? The solution might be simpler than you think—and surprisingly, it's inspired by your weekly grocery store trip.

In this eye-opening episode, we explore how the marketing psychology behind grocery store "end caps" (those special displays at the ends of aisles) can revolutionize your playroom strategy. Just as we experience decision fatigue standing before dozens of peanut butter options, our children's developing brains shut down when facing an overwhelming toy collection. The problem isn't the toys themselves—it's their presentation and accessibility.

Rather than focusing solely on toy rotation, which can still leave toys hidden and forgotten, we explore the power of strategic visibility. By creating "toy end caps" throughout your home—thoughtfully placing selected toys in high-traffic areas—you can dramatically increase independent play while reducing screen time requests. This simple shift addresses both decision fatigue and visibility challenges simultaneously, turning forgotten toys into irresistible play invitations.

I share my own family's transformation after implementing this approach: Legos on the coffee table became a pre-dinner activity, animal figurines on the kitchen table sparked post-dinner imagination, and fidgets in the bathroom made morning routines more enjoyable. Most importantly, this strategy helps release the parental guilt many of us feel when our playrooms aren't working as intended.

Ready to transform your home's play dynamics? Try placing 3-5 toys in visible locations this week and watch what happens. Then share your experience by tagging @PlayroomChronicles on social media—I'd love to celebrate your wins with you!

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Episode Transcript

Charlene (00:00):
Today, I want to share a powerful strategy inspired by
a place you probably visitweekly your local grocery store.
Welcome to the PlayroomChronicles podcast, where toys
spark imagination, learning andindependent play.
I'm Sharnley Deloach, a toy andplay expert, but a mom just
like you, navigating buildingblocks, puzzle pieces and snack
crumbs every day, ever wonderedwhich toy will actually get

(00:23):
played with, or how do I keep mychild engaged without a screen?
You're in the right place.
From ready-day rescues toskill-building superstars, this
is your go-to for honest toyrecommendations, real talk and
play ideas that work, ready toturn chaos into creativity.
One toy at a time, then.
Welcome to the PlayroomChronicles podcast.

(00:43):
Hey everybody, welcome back tothe Playroom Chronicles podcast.
Hey everybody, welcome back tothe Playroom Chronicles podcast.
And I'm sure right now you'relike I thought this was a toy
and play podcast, charlene.
Why are we talking about grocerystores?
Well, stay with me in thisepisode because I promise it'll
all make sense and give you thestrategies that you need to help
your kids play more with theirtoys.

(01:05):
All right, so picture thisYou're standing in the grocery
store peanut butter aislestaring at tons of peanut butter
jars.
Now, I don't know the last timeyou went to that specific
section in your grocery store.
But I am always overwhelmedwhen I'm standing there.
There are so many choices forthis one type of product.

(01:25):
There's chunky, there's creamy,there's organic, there's
mainstream, there's almond,there's cashew, there's
sunflower, all the things andsometimes, when that happens, we
feel frozen and overwhelmed andthen sometimes, like in my case
in particular, kind of annoyed.
But that moment right there,that's called decision fatigue,

(01:45):
and grocery stores understandthis.
So that is why they often useend caps, those special displays
at the end of aisles, so thatthey will simplify your choices
for you.
Because end caps ease decisionfatigue by making a few select
products highly accessible.
Yes, I understand, a lot oftimes it's backed by you know

(02:07):
which ones are on sale, or ifsomeone's doing a promotion, I
get it.
But the concept still is thesame.
They're pulling a few out andplacing them on this end cap.
So you only have, you know,like five choices, regardless of
reason why the only five arethere, but the five there.
So you're sort of like oh, thisseems good enough and you move
on, it's on sale, or these arethe five and you grab it.

(02:30):
Ncaps also have a secondarypurpose.
They make those few selectionof peanut butter and peanut
butter alternatives highlyvisible, since the NCAPs are
typically right where you seethem as you walk by in the
grocery store, because you'regoing along with your cart and
you're seeing at the end of theaisle and then all of a sudden
you're like, oh, that's right, Ineed peanut butter.

(02:51):
I forgot I was going to makesomething this week with it and
you put it in your cart, takingthat end cap concept.
I want you to apply it to yourplayroom Because, let's face it,
as moms we often think we'refailing when our kids don't play
with the toys we provided.
Right, we blame ourselves, or weblame the abundance of toys, or
we blame ourselves that we'renot organized enough.

(03:13):
All the things we're alwayslike blame us.
But what if the problem isn'ttoo many toys?
What if it's simply how thetoys are displayed and accessed?
Because think about yourchild's experience entering a
cluttered playroom.
It's like standing in thatoverwhelming peanut butter aisle
.
And for these little brains,right?

(03:34):
No wonder why they're sayingI'm bored or asking for stream
time.
Their brains simply shut downand they can't easily decide how
or what to play with.
Add the other concept, justlike how the peanut butter jars
are down the side aisle and youkind of forget it's down there
because you're shopping and youdon't go down that aisle and you
totally walk away without thepeanut butter.

(03:55):
You're like, oh my God, Iforgot the peanut butter.
Well, toys crammed into binsand baskets often become
invisible.
So yes, I know, toy rotation issuper popular right now, but it
still reduces the visibilityand then everything's sort of
stacked in these bins.
So yeah, they can pull a binout, sort of like the end cap,
and here are a few selections,but they're still sort of hidden

(04:17):
and when toys aren't easilyseen, oftentimes they're not
played with.
Now, if you're still not onboard with this sort of concept,
let me give you another exampleyour closet.
Think about your own closet,the time when you're standing
there staring at all yourclothes and then you say I have
nothing to wear.
But you and I both know that'snot true.
But that's decision fatigueagain, and that's why outfit

(04:42):
planners are so popular, becausethey put it together and you're
like oh, I don't have to thinkabout it.
Right, highly selected items.
That's kind of like that toyrotation piece.
You take all the toys, you putit down into a smaller amount,
so it's easy to go.
This is what I want to playwith, but the thing is it's
still not accessing thevisibility.
And the idea is, even wherefitness trainers come in, using

(05:07):
sort of the clothing analogy,like fitness trainers often say
like, hey, put your shoes by theside door so you're reminded to
go work out.
Or nutritionists say, hey, putthe bowl of fruit on the kitchen
table and put the cookies away.
So when you're walking by andyou're hungry, you see it right
there.
You're more apt to eat healthy.
In our adult lives, we regularlyuse decision, fatigue reduction
strategies and increasedvisibility strategies to combat

(05:32):
all the things that we have todeal with, yet we rarely apply
these approaches to our kids'toys.
We usually do one or the otheror do the blame game.
So I hope this is your ahamoment.
Toys aren't the issue, andyou're certainly not failing.
It's just that your toy setup,and maybe your current toy
strategy, is just not workingfor you.

(05:55):
And so here's what I did in myown home I started treating toys
like I would do as a grocerystore person.
I started treating the toyslike the jars of peanut butter
and I started strategicallycreating end caps, if you will,
around our house.
So, rather than reducing toysdrastically, I simply selected a

(06:16):
few toys from the playroom andplaced them around the house in
clear, accessible spots, so justlike grocery store end caps.
These carefully placed toysbecame basically irresistible
invitations for play, and Iended up doing two things at
once.
First, I reduced the decisionfatigue by moving these

(06:37):
particular toys out of theirplay space and then, secondly,
increase the visibility so theywould be reminded to play, and
play over the TV.
So within days for us,something amazing started to
happen.
My kids began engagingspontaneously with toys that
they previously ignored.

(06:57):
The bowl of Legos on the coffeetable was played with before
dinner.
The animal figurines I put outin a tray on the kitchen table
were played with after dinner.
The fidgets that I put in a jarin the bathroom actually or
play with where the kids werebrushing their teeth, and then
got them up and out of the bedin the morning to get ready for

(07:17):
school because there wassomething fun to play with.
These simple changessignificantly boosted
independent play time and, bonusfor us, noticeably decreased
screen requests.
Studies show the visibilitystrategies and decision fatigue
reduction strategies work.
That's why nutritionists use it, that's why personal trainers

(07:37):
use it, that's why stylists useit.
That's why grocery stores useit.
Given fewer and clearer options, our brains engage and we need
to apply that logic to our kidsand toys.
Basically, simpler, visibledisplays encourage independent
play.
But all in all here's theemotional takeaway I want you to
grasp clearly you aren't a badmom or a bad parent because your

(08:00):
kids aren't playing or playingindependently, and you're not
failing because your playroom isoverflowing.
You simply need smarterapproaches.
Basically, basically thegrocery store approach to toy
visibility.
So this week I encourage you totest the strategy.
Pick, like, three to five toysand position them visibly in
high traffic areas of your homeand watch what happens.

(08:23):
I think you'll see a difference, not in just how your kids play
, but also in how you feel as amom.
And after you tried it, I'dlove to hear your story.
If you can tag me at PlayroomChronicles on Instagram or
Facebook, I'd love to see whatyou're discovering and,
hopefully, some of your wins.
Until next time, I encourageyou to step back from

(08:44):
self-criticism, embracestrategic visibility and
basically, simply end cap yourplayroom, because you deserve
playtime to feel as effortlessas grabbing your favorite peanut
.